Category: Advice & Guidance (Page 1 of 2)

The Best Ways to Engage with Flatmates

26th November 2020 / King's Residences / 0 Comments

Post contributed by Lauren Hammond, Health & Fitness Coach, King’s Sport

If 2020 has taught us one thing, it’s that connecting with our friends and family are key to maintaining a happy mind!

With limited activities currently being allowed in the UK, it’s time to get creative with building new friendships and maintaining your old ones.

Here are just a few ideas for how to safely socialise:

Shared meals: Taco Tuesdays and Sunday roasts are the first that spring to mind, but you can get creative and maybe do a pot luck (everyone cooks or brings one thing to make a meal) , themed nights, like Thanksgiving, or a new country each week, or even get together and have breakfast for dinner
Sharing ways to keep busy: Create a list of must see Netflix shows, podcasts, or new albums released on Spotify; share great reads either digitally or hardcopies.
Watch parties: Stream a movie together over a hot chocolate!
Games night: Games night doesn’t have to involved purchasing games (although there are many great ones to choose from) you can get creative and make your own! A simple deck of cards can produce many hours of fun!
Keep moving, stay positive: Encourage flatmates to keep active or join you for the Kings Sport Classes (a bit of friendly competition is always fun) or attend one of our many resilife events!

Everything You Need to Know About the Positive Peers

20th October 2020 / King's Residences / 0 Comments

Post contributed by Helen Kursten-Holmes, Positive Peer Supervisor

The Positive Peers are a student-led volunteer group that sits within KCLSU Wellbeing. We aim to enhance the personal and collective wellbeing of King’s College London students by giving evidence-based information to improve student mental health and wellbeing, sharing experiences and connecting each other with helpful resources. We organise a variety of interactive events and workshops throughout the year that all students can participate in. Through our projects and events, we seek to promote, support and celebrate the wellbeing of students at King’s and to create a healthier and happier community. The Positive Peers team is divided into 3 main strands, each led by Positive Peer Supervisors. The strands comprise of Peer Run-Support, Peer Health Education, and Engagement and Online Support.

The Peer-Run Support strand delivers one-to-one and group support for students experiencing mental health difficulties. This includes Positive Minds, a 4-week course to support students experiencing low mood and mild depression. We will be launching this course in November, so if you’re feeling a bit low and finding university difficult, you can attend our peer support group Positive Minds or reach out for a one-to-one chat with us. Alongside this, we also offer wellbeing checks where we interact with new students to support their transition to university and to highlight KCLSU Wellbeing resources and other essential services. During Welcome 2020, the Positive Peers spoke to over 100 new King’s students in our one-to-one virtual King’s Check-in sessions. These sessions were offered to new students to make sure that they had everything they needed to get started and thrive at King’s.

The Peer Health Education strand leads on education and outreach through delivering workshops and facilitating initiatives about mental health and wellbeing, online, on campus, in residence halls, and for specific student groups. This strand’s activities include wellbeing checks, Cooking and Conversation, which is a cooking workshop in partnership with King’s Residences where students learn a new healthy recipe while getting to know other students, and our 3 part programme, Thrive. This 3 week course gives students the support to learn strategies that can promote positive wellbeing and equips them with the tools and activities that can be included in their daily routine so that they can flourish. Thrive is one of our most popular courses and in light of the pandemic, we have been delivering it virtually. To join our next Thrive programme starting in November, sign up for it using our Eventbrite page.

The Engagement and Online Support strand runs the team’s digital outreach by creating accessible communications for all students (including those not on campus) to improve their wellbeing and promote the team’s activities. The digital team also creates the monthly Positive Peers newsletter, detailing our recent news and campaigns, upcoming events and wellbeing tips. You can read our October newsletter by clicking here. The team also writes blog posts for the KCLSU website and each blog post delves into a variety of wellbeing topics, tips and themes, our most recent one is Settling in at University. In addition to this, we have a podcast and lots of content on social media to help boost wellbeing and increase awareness of mental health and wellbeing events and concepts. For Wellbeing Week (2^nd November – 6^th November), we are organising a Positive Peers Instagram takeover of Project X’s Instagram and collaborating with Big Pitch Energy on a competition that will be open to all King’s students, staff and alumni, where you can win £50 and be featured on our newsletter. So, make sure you keep an eye out on our socials for more information about how you can take part!

We hope to see you at our upcoming events and if you have any questions, our inbox and social media are always open so feel free to get in touch.

Visit our website: www.kclsu.org/help/wellbeing/positivepeers

Email us: positivepeers@kcl.ac.uk

Connect with us on social media:

Room Hacks: A guide to efficient living in King’s Residences

9th October 2020 / King's Residences / 0 Comments

Post contributed by CF Rad

Moving into a new place is one of the most exciting things about starting uni, but it is also quite a monumental task. Add a pandemic to the mix, and you have the perfect recipe for a stressful couple of weeks.

But worry not- here at King’s ResiLife we have compiled a comprehensive list of tips and tricks you can use to avoid any hassle and settle into your new home as quickly as possible. It is a by-product of our collective experience of living in student halls, so you know that these recommendations are worth a try!

Bedroom Hacks

Decorating:

Door tags are a wonderful way to introduce yourself to your flatmates, and not to mention, they look extremely cute! If you are self-isolating, you can also put your social media handles on there so your flatmates can reach out to you online.
Plants fulfil many purposes- apart from adding a pop of colour, they also keep the air in your room fresh and add a homely vibe. Cacti and succulents are extremely popular with students as they require minimal care and are also sold at low prices at local supermarkets.
Photos of friends and family, or postcards of places you have visited are a great way to personalise the space. Websites like Snapfish will print your photos out for you and deliver them to your door. Photographs also go well with fairy lights and will look great on your notice board!

Organising:

Most rooms in residences have two main areas for storage- under your bed, and on wall-mounted shelves and cabinets. It is best to use the under-bed storage for larger items such as suitcases, and items you do not use often- for instance, you could store your winter clothes under your bed during warmer months. Shelves can be used for books and trinkets, or any other items you need often.
Drawer dividers are an efficient way to organise underwear, socks, and other small items. They make it easy to find your things and utilize drawer space that otherwise might go wasted.
Desk organisation units are a great way to make the most out of your workstation. Most stationery shops like Ryman and WH Smith sell file racks, bookends and pen stands in sets; consider buying these for a more cohesive look!

Cleaning:

A list of equipment you will need to maintain a clean bedroom:

Multi-purpose spray
Glass cleaner spray
J-cloths
Microfiber clothes
Duster
Dustpan and brush
Optional: Mini vacuum

**Pro tips: Try talking to your flatmates about pitching in to buy a set of these for everyone’s use!

2. Make a cleaning timetable for yourself. Look at your university timetable and extracurricular activities and find the days which work best for you to clean do your laundry and freshen up your room. Your laundry day might be different than your cleaning day!

3. Here is the most efficient set of steps to clean your room, so that you don’t have to repeat any task:

Dust: When dusting, make sure you work from top to bottom, left to right. This way you’re not scattering dust on surfaces you have already cleaned.
Glass: Wipe mirrors with a microfiber cloth and some glass cleaner spray, also useful for picture frames.
Wipe surfaces: Wipe surfaces using a j-cloth and some multi-purpose spray.
Vacuum: After dusting / wiping, vacuum your room. Make sure you go under your desk too!
Take out the trash!! Take the rubbish out your bin and replace the bin-liner. Make sure you take the rubbish to your buildings rubbish room and separate into recycling/rubbish.

4. Clean up spillages as soon as they happen. Take out old plates and used dishes when you are done eating- this way your room won’t smell of old food.

5. Since candles and incense sticks are not allowed in residences, you may use room spray or a reed diffuser to make your room smell nice. Reed diffusers can be bought at Sainsbury’s for £3.

We hope that these tips are helpful for you! Tag us on social media using #kingsresilife if you use these so we can see you thriving in residences!

70 Second Mug Cake

6th October 2020 / King's Residences / 0 Comments

Ingredients

2 tablespoons gluten-free flour
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons Dutch cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon gluten-free baking powder
1 large egg
2 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon oil
2 tablespoons Nutella

Vegan Alternatives

Aquafaba
Oat Milk

Vegan Alternative Links:

Instructions

Step 1: Combine the flour, sugar, cocoa and baking powder in a bowl.

Step 2: Make a well in the centre and add the egg, milk and oil. Use a whisk or a spatula to beat until combined.

Step 3: Spoon into a 400ml mug or whatever size is available to you this size I have just found works best.

Step 4: Spoon the Nutella into the centre. Microwave 70 seconds or until risen.

Top with double cream or ice-cream and dress with some fruits!

How to make brownies – with CF Amnah

3rd October 2020 / King's Residences / 0 Comments

Vegan Brownies Recipe – Nora Cooks

Ingredients

4 Tbsp Ground Flax
½ Cup water
½ Cup Vegan Butter
1 Cup Granulated Sugar
1 Cup Brown Sugar
1 Cup Cocoa Powder
1 Tsp Baking Powder
1 Tbsp Vanilla Extract
1 Cup Flour

Method

Prep a pan by placing baking paper into it and set to the side
Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius
Make the flax eggs by stirring together the ground flax and water. Set aside to thicken
Melt the vegan butter and measure 1/2 cup either in a saucepan which is quick or in 20 second intervals in the microwave
In a large bowl, whisk the melted vegan butter and sugars together. Add the flax eggs and vanilla. Whisk until combined and smooth
Into the same bowl, sift flour and cocoa powder. Add a pinch of salt and baking powder and combine simply with a spatula
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth out the top with a spoon or your hands
Bake for 35-40 minutes
Allow to cool for around 15 minutes and this usually allows them also to firm up
Remove from the pan let cool for another 15 minutes before slicing them and serving

Cheesecake Brownies

Ingredients

Brownie Batter
1/2 cup unsalted butter
3 tbsp cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup + 2 tbsp sugar
2 eggs
3/4 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 cup flour
Cheese Layer
225g cream cheese
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Method

Preheat Oven to 180 degrees Celsius
Line a baking tin with baking paper
Melt the butter down either in a saucepan or in the microwave in 30 second intervals
Add in the cocoa powder and mix together
Add sugar and whisk until combined. Add the eggs, vanilla extract and combine them into the mixture
Add flour and fold, using a rubber spatula, just until combined. Set aside 1/3 cup of the batter and pour the rest into the prepared pan. Smooth the top
Beat together the cream cheese and the sugar until a smooth paste forms
Add egg and vanilla extract and beat until combined
Dollop onto the brownie batter then take the reserved brownie batter and dollop that on top of the cheese
Using a fork or a toothpick swirl the two together to create a marbled effect
Bake for 25-30 minutes until the cheesecake is set and an instrument inserted into the brownies comes out with just moist crumbs and not batter. It should not be dry
Allow the cheesecake to set and cool down completely
Store in an airtight container for up to 2 days
For a Gluten Free version simply purchase gluten free flour!

Self-Care

17th September 2020 / King's Residences / 0 Comments

Post contributed by Jasmin, Welfare Lead

I’m Jasmin, and I’m one of the Residence Welfare Leads here at King’s. Members of our team live on-site at each residence to provide welfare support for our student community. Moving into residences is a big change, even without some of the additional stresses we are facing this year, and it’s totally normal to be feeling worried or overwhelmed. Your wellbeing is really important and so we thought we’d share a bit about self-care!

What is self-care?

It can be really easy to get lost in buzzwords, so we’ll keep it simple here. Self-care is anything you consciously do to promote your mental, physical and emotional wellbeing.

What kind of things can I do?

Self-care is a personal thing and it looks different for everyone! It doesn’t have to be expensive or time-consuming and regularly choosing an activity that takes 10 minutes or less can make a real difference. Action For Happiness have some great tips on their #SelfCareSeptember daily action calendar.

We’ve also listed a few ideas below, and you can check out the KCLSU Wellbeing Hub for activities, events and resources around King’s to boost wellbeing all year round.

Taking an online exercise class
We all know exercise is physically good for us, but it can also give a real boost to your mood too! King’s Sport offer access to their BeActive program for free if you are a resident at King’s Halls.
Listening to music
Music can be a powerful tool for both relaxing and getting motivated. Whatever you choose to listen to, taking some time for your favourite music can help in making your new space feel a bit more like home.
Doing something creative
Spending some time on a creative hobby can provide the break you need to boost wellbeing. You might want to learn a new skill or practise an old one! If you’re looking for inspiration, keep an eye on the King’s ResiLife virtual events for their Creativity Nights.
Having a nice cup of tea
Or any hot drink really – I’ve saved one of the simplest until last! Taking ten minutes to step away from daily stresses and relax.

About the Residence Welfare Lead Team

We’re a group of friendly, trained volunteers who live in the King’s Residences to support with student welfare.

Our duty hours are between 8PM – 8AM on weekdays and 24 hours on the weekend. We can be reached over text, phone or email and you can find our contact details around the residence as well as on our webpages here.

Black Students Talk

22nd June 2020 / King's Residences / 1 Comment

Post contributed by Nkasi Stoll, 1st year PhD student, Department of Psychological Medicine

Black Students Talk is a new virtual weekly peer wellbeing support group run by us, for us.

Topic: Black Students Talk (BST)

When: Every Thursday, 3pm-5pm

Link: https://zoom.us/j/98862363294?pwd=anJRZzBLTkxjQXhpYmNvVFVnREtnUT09

Meeting ID: 988 6236 3294

Password: BPT20

What is Black Students Talk (BST)?

BST is a peer support group that provides safe, supportive and therapeutic spaces for black* students to meet, share, learn, and manage our mental health & wellbeing at university.

BST online sessions are held weekly via Zoom. Each weekly session from 3PM-5PM and lasts 2 hours.

Why does BST exist?

As university students we experience complex academic, psychological, social, emotional and financial pressures. Black* students face specific pressures that often affect our mental health and therefore, our university experience and outcome.

BST x KCL was set up by Nkasi Stoll (Postgraduate student at King’s College London, IoPPN) and Yannick Yalipende (Postgraduate student at University of Bristol).

Nkasi and Yannick worked with the IoPPN Diversity and Inclusion team to set up this group due to their own experiences with depression and anxiety whilst studying at university.

What do Black Students Talk (BST) sessions offer?

one-to-one/group discussions using culturally relevant/specific psychoeducation
help accessing appropriate mental health services within the university and wider community
a ‘home away from home’ to connect with other black* students
visiting speakers from black mental health organisations
BPT resources designed and delivered by trained facilitators

Who is Black Students Talk (BST) for?

University students at King’s College London who identify as “black*” (African, Caribbean, Mixed heritage).

How do I attend the Black Students Talk (BST) sessions?

BST sessions are being held virtually. No need to sign up in advance. On Thursday at 3pm click the zoom link and enter the meeting ID and password (provided at the top of this email) to join the group. Email us on: hello@blackpeopletalk.co.uk. Find us on Twitter: @yyalipende & @NkasiStoll

How I started a business from my room in King’s Residences

13th May 2020 / King's Residences / 1 Comment

Contributed by Konstantinos, 3rd year medical student

My name is Kostas, I am a medical student at King’s. 2018 was the year I started my own business called Student Essentials.

Don’t get too excited it doesn’t involve machine learning or artificial intelligence. It is a super simple business, yet it offers great convenience to our customers. We deliver all the essentials (like duvets, pillows, towels, kitchen items) to students when they arrive at their accommodation. It saves them time and money.

Looking back 2 years ago, I started from just having this idea and now my business is a recommended supplier of Bedroom and Kitchen Packs for King’s College London. I vaguely remember the period when I had just a couple of orders to having hundreds of orders going through our website. The reason for this is because it went by really fast, just a matter of a few days/weeks. I was the happiest person in the world when I received the first batch of samples from my suppliers. I had all different types of pillowcases, colours, pillow fillings etc on my hands to choose from. The only downside was my storage capacity, as I lived in en-suite single bedroom at great dover street apartments so all my friends started questioning how I was going to do this.

But that didn’t stop me from pursuing my goals. I knew this business had great potential and that students would benefit from this service. A few weeks later when I started getting hundreds of orders, it became apparent my bedroom could no longer be the place I store the orders. So I ended up renting a room at a big storage company and that changed everything. Things became much easier to handle now I had all the space I needed! Getting all this stock out in time for the student arrival was one of the biggest challenges. Luckily, I had the support from my two best friends that helped in delivering hundreds of bedroom packs to the students!

Although it is just me behind the business, I wouldn’t have been able to be where I am now without the incredible support from my family, friends and King’s College London. Kings’ strategic vision for 2029 is to foster the entrepreneurial spirit and that means I am (and even you if you want to become an entrepreneur) in the right place at the right time. Something that stood out to me, which you do not see often, is how willing the staff at King’s College London are to foster entrepreneurial ideas. I have had managers from residences spend hours with me discussing how best to launch my business, which is invaluable.

King’s Residences is a great place to start your entrepreneurial journey and I am thankful of the support King’s College London provided me with.

How to Stay Connected

5th May 2020 / King's Residences / 0 Comments

Connecting with friends and family

Not being able to see friends and family can be hard at times like this, but now the Government has set these new rules in place we are going to have to be creative with how we connect with them online.

We’ve been doing our research and have come up with some different ways to see your friends/family as well as making it a bit more fun and interactive…

Google Hangouts/ Zoom
You may have seen others using tools like these to video call their friends and family. The beauty of this is that you can have multiple people on there at a time, so forget having to pass the phone round to family members, have a big group video call instead!

Quiz night from home
Considering we are all self-isolating at home all day, there may not be much to catch up about, so why not get creative and create a quiz. There are hundreds of quizzes online you could use or you could make your own, make it personal to whoever you are quizzing. Take turns to be the quizmaster and make it a weekly thing!

Netflix party
If you miss chilling with your housemates watching movies, or planned to watch a new series together but had to move back home to self-isolate, then wait no longer – Netflix Party has arrived. Netflix Party synchronizes video playback and adds a group chat alongside – it’s like you’ve never been apart!

Skribbl.io
If you fancy something different to a quiz or want to mix it up a bit, try yourselves at Skribbl.io. It’s almost like an only Pictionary but online, test your online drawings skills and compete against your friends, the perfect game if you need a laugh.

Jackbox
You may have already played this when you were all together, but it’s still just as easy to play it over video call. Follow this simple video to set up Jackbox via Zoom and it’ll have you playing for hours, if you need something to help get you through the days this is definitely worth a go.

There are lots of different ways to communicate online, it’s time to get creative.

5 Easy Ways to Keep Fit Indoors

29th April 2020 / King's Residences / 0 Comments

Workouts in your room

As we are all self-isolating, we all have a lot of time on our hands, if you want the time to pass a lot quicker, then planning activities you can do each day will have you flying through the days.

We’ve put together some simple workouts you can do from your own room.

Burn fat in bed

If you struggle to get up in the morning, then a workout from your own bed sounds too good to be true right? Wrong, this is actually a thing! Be sure to check out this 5-minute fat-burning workout, a perfect activity to wake yourself up in the mornings.

http://https://youtu.be/j-sOWLKGmKs

Keep in shape at your desk

Most uni rooms come fitted with a desk and little floor space, so workouts you can do at your desk gives you no excuse. This 10-minute workout is the perfect exercise to do when you need a break from revision or whilst you’re waiting for your dinner to cook.

http://https://youtu.be/0Dp2rL397jA

Workout whilst watching TV

Your favourite tv shows started but summers just around the corner and you still haven’t started working out yet. Try working out whilst watching your favourite shows! This one is particularly good to do if you want to have fun and tone up.

http://https://youtu.be/S6OIKsZammI

Increase the intensity

If you go to the gym a lot and want a high-intensity workout, or have been doing some other exercise videos in your room but want to test yourself, follow this Joe Wicks HIIT workout. With no equipment needed this simple yet effective workout will definitely get your pulses racing.

http://https://youtu.be/TwOuh73cGGQ

Stretch it out

Although this may seem like a warm down, stretching is actually really good for you and it’s something most of us forget to do. Whether it’s on its own, after a workout, or before bed, this is a great activity to add to your daily routine.

http://https://youtu.be/GGJzZx4H2K4